Smoking and vaping minimum age in Saskatchewan set to rise to 19

Saskatchewan’s government is looking to raise the age of smoking in the province after the move was announced in Wednesday’s speech from the throne.

The province said it is working with organizations like Lung Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan Heart and Stroke and the Canadian Cancer Society to reduce smoking and vaping, particularly among young people.

“During this session, my government will introduce legislation designed to reduce smoking and vaping, including raising the legal consumption age from 18 to 19, consistent with the age for alcohol and cannabis consumption,” the throne speech read.

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Jennifer May, the vice-president of health promotion and government relations with Lung Saskatchewan, said it was important to align the minimum age for smoking to meet the minimum age for drinking or consuming cannabis.

She said the move will support schools as well.

“The majority of kids that are in high school are ages 14 to 18, and so while moving the age to 19 isn’t going to solve the vaping issue here in Saskatchewan, it’s certainly a great step,” May said.

She said there are high rates of students between grades 7 to 12 reporting having tried tobacco vaping products.

May said she also wants to see governments, both federal and provincial, put regulations on flavours of vaping products.

Minister of Health Everett Hindley touched on the topic as well, saying the legislation will be one of the amendments that will be presented this fall.

“We do have very high rates of smoking and vaping in amongst our youth, higher than I think it should be,” Hindley said.

He said on top of the minimum age increase, the government will also clarify definitions around advertising and promotion to make sure those advertisements aren’t being put in front of youth.

Global News’ Gates Guarin took to the streets of Saskatoon around the University of Saskatchewan campus to get residents’ take on the change, with many in support.

“I feel like it’s a good idea,” Benedict Obodo said.

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He said it would do a lot of good for youth in Saskatchewan.

Obodo added by the age of 19 you should be able to properly weigh the risks and benefits of smoking.

“Vaping is not cool anymore. We’re trying to get away from that,” Quinn Sully said.

Garrett Kawa also agreed with the change in legislation.

“‘Probably don’t want to be putting smoke in your lungs’ is kind of a rule of thumb I go by,” Kawa said.

Kylie Willms felt that having the drinking age set at 19 didn’t make sense seeing as 18-year-olds can vote, and felt the same about the age for smoking.

“I think in terms of vaping and smoking, it should kind of be similar,” Willms said.